Artemis Rose
by Heartache14
Summary: Thanks to Zero's own impulsive tendencies, he's forced to find a way repair his malfunctioning Bloody Rose himself. However, a few desperate words land him in an unlikely situation ridden with transforming weapons, fangirls, and perverted vampires. To make matters worse, he's starting to feel something other than hatred towards a certain pureblood. What's a hunter to do? KxZ


A/N: *hangs head shamefully* I…am a terrible person. *glances at the incomplete third chapter of _The Parent Trap_*

I feel pretty terrible for not updating yet, but I've been having pretty bad writers block for several of my stories. I will do my best to get chapter 3 of _The Parent Trap_ up before I leave for school, but I don't want to make any promises. This may very well be my last post until I get settled in at college.

**A bit about this story: **Urgh. The entire time I've been writing it, I've been trying to think of where this kinda fits into the main VK plot, but I can't really think of a way to explain things. Yuki has been restored to her pureblood princess self; she is not a bitch. While I am often amused by bitchy/slutty Yuki, it just doesn't really play well into my story. She and Kaname are still at the academy. Rido hasn't attacked. Shizuka is dead, and Ichiru is…off being Ichiru. We may or may not see him. Who knows?

Soooo, Yuki and Kaname have separate bedrooms; I know that may seem stupid but it just worked better if they had separate rooms.

Also, Zero is currently the only guardian; as to why that is…well, that'll be explained later.

I've been very busy (and very lazy) lately, so I have done much hardcore editing for this story like I should've done. I'm sorry for any mistakes, and I'll do my best to correct those when I go to update.

**Pairings:**

Male Artemis Rod x Male Bloody Rose

Kaname x Zero (eventually)

Kaname x Yuki – They (probably) won't actually kiss or anything in this fic, and I'm leaning towards making their affections for each other very platonic, but we'll see.

ENJOY!

* * *

A cool piercing blue eye examined the intricate fold of metal in a scrutinizing fashion. Long calloused fingers prodded and turned the weapon, and the gun's owner watched the movements with a certain palpable anxiousness, though the nervousness was hastily masked by a scowl. "Well?" the teenager demanded, thin silver brows furrowed in impatience. "What's wrong with it?"

Toga Yagari sighed before placing the gun in the silver-haired boy's hand. "Nothing's wrong with it," he replied lazily. "You're just using it wrong, stupid apprentice."

Strong slender hands quickly holstered the gun before slamming on the table in frustration. "It's a gun!" Zero Kiryu growled. "How the hell can I be using it wrong?! I'll prove to you that the damn thing doesn't work anymore!" Without another word, Zero took hold of Bloody Rose and aimed at the doorframe. With a sharp squeeze of the trigger, the energy-fueled bullet soared and made contact with its target. The bullet rebounded off of wooden frame, hitting the floor with a pathetic _ping_. The young hunter turned to his master with a challenging smirk.

Kaien Cross finally interjected himself into the conversation. "It seems Zero-rin is right. Perhaps it is time for a new weapon." Yagari begrudgingly opened his mouth to comment, but Zero's voice interrupted him.

"I…I don't want a new weapon," the ex-human hunter grumbled, forcing the hints of petulance out of his tone. "I want you to fix Bloody Rose."

The headmaster frowned sympathetically. "I understand, Zero, but I don't think there's anything that can be done for your gun."

Perfect white teeth clenched in a mixture of annoyance disappointment; these emotions were quickly overridden by determination, however. The hasty, defiant words were out of Zero's mouth before he could even fully consider them. "Fine! Then I'll just fix it myself!" In the small span of time it took Zero to stomp across the office, fling the heavy mahogany door open, and slam the aforementioned door closed, the young hunter realized that he had no idea _how_ to fix a gun and certainly not one as sophisticated and complex as the vampire-killing Bloody Rose. As the door nestled into its frame with a great rumble, Zero realized that perhaps his impulsive actions weren't exactly smart. As it was, he'd look foolish if he immediately went scampering back to Cross and Yagari with such a chagrined look on his face. Now he had no choice but to try to repair the gun.

_Fuck_.

As if the world had decided that the hunter's day wasn't quite exactly sucking enough, his self-chastising thoughts were interrupted by the sharp flare in his hunter senses. On cue, Kaname and Yuki rounded the corner. Yuki's wide chocolate eyes widened as she locked her gaze on Zero, but her older brother seemed purely unfazed by his presence.

Things had been awkward since Yuki had been returned to her natural pureblood state, to say the least. Zero wasn't quite exactly sure which had been more off-putting: the fact that the girl he cherished and adored like a baby sister was truly a powerful high-level vampire or the fact that she was related to resident arrogant ass Kaname Kuran.

Yuki and Zero hadn't spoken to each other since the former had been restored to her previous vampire glory, though that certainly isn't to say that the young girl hadn't made an effort to do so. No, rather, Zero simply wasn't ready to talk.

"Kiryu," the male of the two siblings greeted him with a curt nod. Internally, Zero knew that he should respond out of politeness, but manner had never been his forte. Instead, he glared at the vampire pair, though the intensity of his gaze seemed to waver as he glanced at Yuki. Without a word, the silver-haired boy stalked off.

* * *

"You shouldn't have lied to my stupid apprentice," Yagari remarked casually. An unlit cigarette was carefully perched between his lips, and he struck a match against the bottom of his shoe to light it. "You and I both know the reason Bloody Rose isn't working anymore."

With a weary sigh, Kaien propped his hand on the heel of his left palm. "I just couldn't do it, Yagari. He's been through so much lately; I can't just tell him that hunter weapons may no longer work for him."

A narrow cerulean eye turned towards him. "And letting him figure that out the hard way is better? We both knew that this was going to happen eventually – that one day Zero would no longer be able to be a hunter. It was only –

A gentle knock sounded, interrupting the conversation. Cross bid the visitor entrance, and an ecstatic smile graced his face as Yuki and Kaname entered the office. An anxious frown marred Yuki's delicate face, confirming that she had in fact heard their conversation. "Zero's having trouble with his weapon, too?" she asked immediately, momentarily distracted from her initial purpose.

"I'm afraid so."

"It's the vampirism, isn't it?" Kaname questioned, his tone curious. "It's become too dominant, and as such the weapon will no longer obey him."

Before Kaien or Yagari could respond, a sudden burst of reality dashed upon Yuki, and she instantly voiced her concern. "Is that why the Artemis Rod isn't working for me?" Her voice held an anxiousness that saddened Kaien far too much, leaving him unable to respond. Yagari felt a bit sorry for her as well. Though he didn't necessarily agree with the idea of allowing her to wield a hunter's weapon in the first place, he did understand the pain of losing the shared bond with a weapon.

Despite his mixed emotions about the situation, the one-eyed hunter did feel that the girl deserved some sort of answer. A simple, quiet "yes" was all he was able to utter in response.

* * *

Bloody Rose landed onto his bedside table with a high, delicate rattle. Lilac eyes studied the weapon before a weary sigh escaped his lips. Zero didn't even know where to begin. He recalled that Master Toga once spoke of the bond between a weapon and its wielder; the two worked in sync, and without full strength from the wielder, the weapon was essentially useless.

"Look," the silver-haired vampire began uncertainly, feeling a bit foolish for addressing his weapon as though it were a living thing, "I know I've been off my game lately. A lot of stuff has happened, and I'm not entirely sure how to handle it, so cut me a little slack, okay? I'll work harder and try to focus more, but you've got to meet me halfway, Bloody Rose."

_This is humiliating_, Zero realized as he paused. What, was he expecting to receive some sort of response? It was frustrating that he felt he was resorted to _talking_ to his cold hard inanimate gun. With a slight sneer at the weapon (as though it was the gun's fault that he'd just made a fool of himself), he turned away, muttering to himself as he went to prepare for bed.

"It would be easier if you could just tell me what's wrong."

* * *

The first thing Zero saw when he woke up the next morning was skin. The alarm clock blared furiously in the background, and Zero rolled onto his side, resisting the urge to nestle further into the covers and sleep for a few more hours. As his bleary silver-violet eyes opened, he was greeted by the sight of several inches of creamy white skin. Confusedly, his gaze trailed downward stopping once he saw a pair of feet playfully bouncing against the dark wood of his bedside table.

Surprise didn't even cut it.

Suddenly Zero was fully awake. He ripped the indigo blue sheets off of his body and leapt to his feet, eyes narrowing threateningly. And to his great disbelief, there was a naked teenage boy gleaming silver hair was short and spiky, and his eyes were a brilliant vermillion hue. A bright grin played on the naked teenager's face. Reflexively, Zero reached for his gun, stunned to see that it was not where he'd last placed it.

To the hunter's great and utter bewilderment, the boy reached out and entwined Zero's hand with his own. A warm crackle of power seemed to travel through their veins at the physical contact. The smile on the naked teen's face widened. "I knew it!" he cried out, his voice a jubilant and musical tone. "You're my master! You know," his tone turned thoughtful, "you didn't look the way I was expecting you to. You have such strong hands, so I thought you would be some big, muscly guy. And yet, you're so pretty!"

Almost instinctively, Zero moved to grab the boy by the collar, only to be reminded that the kid wasn't wearing a shirt – or anything else, for that matter. The silver-haired hunter settled for clasping onto his shoulders sharply. "Who the hell are you?!"

That charming smile was as innocent as ever. "Isn't it obvious?" he mumbled sweetly. "I am the Bloody Rose gun!"

"What?! That doesn't even make sense!" Zero screeched. "Is this some kind of damn joke?"

The supposed Bloody Rose gun shook his head with an uncharacteristic seriousness. "Just the opposite actually. We need to talk about some things, master."

"Don't call me master; that's just weird. My name's Zero Kiryu."

This seemed to delight Bloody Rose for some reason. "I'll give you a nickname then, master. Something cute and original." A thin index finger tapped his chin. "How about…Ryu-chan?"

"Ryu-chan?"

"Or maybe Zero-chan? But a nickname based off of your surname seems so much cooler."

"Ryu-chan is fine," Zero mumbled, ready to move on to more important matters. "If you're really Bloody Rose, how do you know that I'm your wielder?"

Bloody Rose raised a thin, silver eyebrow. "We have a bond, silly! You of all people should know that, Ryu-chan. Once I accepted you as my master, we formed a bond. I can always recognize your touch, which is why I held your hand earlier. I have chosen to obey only your commands, Ryu-chan, and in weapon format my sense of touch is the only means I have of distinguishing you from anyone else. I can't see or hear or smell you, but I can feel you."

At this explanation, Zero nodded. "Master Toga told that hunter weapons react to their wielders through sense of touch." Lilac orbs narrowed once more. "He didn't mention anything about them turning into naked teenage boys, though."

The weapon laughed, and Zero was surprised to find that he actually liked the sound. It was rhythmic and carefree, almost like Ichiru's was when they were younger. "He probably doesn't know anything about weapon transformations. It takes a lot of energy to change forms, even for high-level weapons like me." This statement elicited a cocky grin from Bloody Rose, and Zero rolled his eyes. "Maintaining the form is easy, though. Like I said, most weapons don't change to their human forms, so very few people have actually witnessed it. Besides, do you think anyone would actually believe it was a weapon, anyway?"

"If that's the case, why did you choose now of all times to change forms?" the lilac-eyed hunter demanded with a scowl. Saying that he was displeased with his gun's sudden transformation would certainly be an understatement. Waking up to see a naked humanoid anti-vampire weapon was certainly not how Zero wanted to start his day. Not at all.

"Because you asked to, master," the gun reported cheerily. "Besides, we have some very important things to discuss – things that affect our functionality as a hunter-weapon team."

Understanding dawned. "You're going to tell me why you haven't been working."

Bloody Rose nodded. "As you already know, all hunter weapons come from the same place. We all have the same origin, and we're all made from the resource. Usually, it's only the wielder that determines how powerful we are, but some of us are different…and, well, I'm one of those different weapons. I have a weapon partner. We were designed to fight alongside each other, and we feed energy off of one another. Together, we're almost unstoppable.

"We've spent too much time apart, though, Ryu-chan. It's been…staggering for me," he admitted with a dejected frown. "It's hard to function without being able to share energy with my partner. We've been able to function without each other before, but we've been in such close proximity for these last few years. Normally, I can compensate for that lost energy by sharing energy with you, master, but lately you've been so sad! Both of us being so upset makes it difficult for us to support each other."

Rather abruptly, Bloody Rose slid off of his perch on the nightstand and sank to his knees, head bowed before his wielder. "Please, Ryu-chan! Please help me find my partner!"

* * *

Kaname Kuran ran a graceful hand through his mahogany strands. This action, coupled with a strained sigh, was the only indication that he was upset.

After leaving Headmaster Cross's office last night, Yuki had barely spoken to him. As soon as they had returned to the Moon Dormitory, his dear girl had bid him a goodnight and slipped into her room with a small melancholy smile. The pureblood prince had slipped into her room around noon to check on his sister. Her petite, lithe body was nestled into the sheets; her elongated hair fanned out across the crimson sheets. Tear tracks clung to her ivory cheeks, and clutched tightly in her hand was the Artemis Rod. The weapon seemed to shine against the blackness of the bedroom, glimmering so brightly despite the sorrow it was causing his sweet Yuki.

_Was this what Kiryu was feeling as well?_ Kaname couldn't ignore the fleeting thought once it made itself present in his mind. Was Zero feeling this same melancholia? Or was it even worse because he had no idea what the cause was? If Yuki's situation was any indication, the lack of a bond with a weapon caused a deep emotional pain, regardless of whether or not the reason behind it was known.

The elusive pureblood almost hated himself for the pang of sympathy he felt towards his rival. He slipped out of Yuki's bedroom and attempted to shake such thoughts away. And yet as he had left to attend to some business, he found his thoughts haunted with the image of tear tracks painting Zero's face and the Bloody Rose gun pressed carefully to his chest.

Currently, it was nearly sunset, and Kaname drag himself away from his work to see if his dear sister was ready for classes. Her bedroom was just as dark as it was earlier that day; everything seemed unchanged initially, but there was a sharp flare of energy within the room, one that signaled the presence of a strong anti-vampire weapon, one that Kaname hadn't felt in several weeks.

As he approached the bed, the energy seemed to grow stronger and more consistent, and the older vampire's eyes narrowed dangerously. Yuki was in the same position she'd been in this morning; however, her hand was no longer wrapped around the strong vampire-demolishing staff. Rather, her outstretched palm gently rested on a plane of smooth milky skin.

Kaname wasn't entirely sure how to react. Initially, he almost felt as though he were intruding, given the man's current state of dress (or lack thereof). However, he could firmly say without a doubt, that the man sleeping next to Yuki was not a member of the Day Class or the Night Class. In fact, his aura was unlike anything Kaname had ever felt. He was also certain that his sister didn't _know_ that there was someone else in the bed with her. As such, Kaname reacted accordingly.

* * *

Yuki awoke to the sight of her brother's eyes flashing a murderous shade of red. She barely had time to react to such an image before Kaname long elegant hands shifted into claws and wrapped around the neck of the strange nude boy that rested next to her.

Several things happened at once. As soon as Kaname made contact, an acute jolt of electric force shot up his arm, and he immediately yanked it away. The unclothed boy awoke immediately, pale eyelids snapping back to reveal dazzling cerulean eyes. The boy sat up, guarded eyes carefully watching Kaname. Though this certainly wasn't the most opportune moment to do so, Yuki couldn't help but admire the boy's hair. It was nearly as long as her, but it was the shade of gleaming gunmetal. The mysterious man angled himself in front of her then spoke. "Please command me, mistress. Shall I dispose of this vampire?"

"M-mistress?" Yuki questioned with a gasp.

Though his back was to her, the pureblood girl could almost sense his confusion. "You are my mistress. Though I was not conscious, I was still able to recognize your touch, mistress."

Kaname found himself unable to stay silent. "Who are you?" he demanded in a snarl.

The boy rose to his feet, deep gray hair fanned around him. His voice was deep and clear. "I am the Artemis Rod."

* * *

Though he'd only awoken to the sight of his naked human weapon a mere hour and a half ago, Zero had already learned a few things about the gun.

Firstly, he insisted that Zero call him Rose, despite the hunter's comments that the name was a little…effeminate. Secondly, he and Rose were the exact same size, which certainly helped once he finally got around to clothing the boy. Thirdly, not only could the weapon eat, he actually _loved_ Zero's cooking – while this was certainly fortunate since Zero had no desire to take the humanized gun into the student cafeteria, it presented a significant drawback…Zero had no idea what to tell Cross when the over-enthusiastic man asked why there was no food in the house. Lastly, Zero discovered that Rose was very fond of staring at him with look of complete adoration; he had been doing so ever since Zero agreed to help him find his weapon partner.

Like now, for instance. They were currently sneaking into the headmaster's unoccupied office, and even as they crept into the silent room, Zero could still feel that damn near creepy hero-worship grin being directed at his back.

The annoyed hunter whirled around to face his weapon. "Alright, you have got to stop looking at me like that."

"I'm sorry!" Rose stage whispered a few decibels louder than Zero cared for. "It's just…you're so kind for agreeing to help me, master!"

Zero was floored. Kind _definitely_ wasn't one of the adjective people usually used to describe him. Angry, scary, angsty, and hostile were the favored Zero Kiryu descriptors. Kind, or any other positive term, wasn't what usually came to mind when one thought of him. "Umm, it's no big deal," he mumbled, uselessly trying to fight back the chagrined blush that blossomed on his face. "And I said stop calling me master. It's Ryu-chan, remember? You don't have to be so formal with me, okay? We can be like friends or whatever."

The amazement was evident on Rose's face. "Friends?" he repeated, crimson eyes wide. Zero nodded before stepping further into the darkened office, and Rose followed suit, whispering as he did so. "Ryu-chan, how do friends behave towards each other?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure," he admitted softly and a tad forlornly. "I don't have any friends anymore."

Rose could almost feel his wielder's sorrow before he heard it or saw it. He felt a sympathetic pang and rested a palm on Zero's shoulder. "You're my first friend, Zero." A kind, genuine smile accompanied his words.

Zero returned the smile, before moving to the towering wardrobe in the corner of the office. He tugged it open and retrieved a Day Class uniform that was the same size as his own. Rose seemed amazed by the uniform – though Zero was quickly learning that it didn't take much to amaze his weapon – and hugged it to his chest almost reverently. Zero also eased a few documents out of a desk drawer. As they tiptoed out of the office, Zero explained.

"It's easier to help you if we pretend you're a student. That way even if Cross or somebody sees you – though I really hope they don't – they'll just think you're a Day Class student."

"Does that mean I'll get to go to classes with you, Ryu-chan?!" the gun cried eagerly.

The teenage hunter nodded as they returned to his room. "Yeah. I'll admit, I don't go to classes much, though. You can help me with class changeover; I could use it, especially since Cross hasn't gotten anyone to replace Yu-" Zero staggered over her name briefly, though he quickly shook his head and hastily continued, "to replace the old prefect. I don't really know how I'm going to protect the school if you're not in gun format, though."

Rose grinned delightedly. "I can still fight in this form," he revealed excitedly. "I'll have to show you soon."

Zero's interest was certainly piqued now, but unfortunately there wasn't much time to discuss things further. While Rose fumbled with the uniform (he wasn't particularly adept with putting on clothing), Zero quickly filled out of the paperwork necessary for Rose's enrollment. Once the weapon was clothed (it took a bit longer than necessary, seeing as Zero was forced to explained the phenomena of buttons once more), the pair headed for the main academic building. Thankfully, they were able to completely bypass the headmaster, as the secretary was able to successfully process Rose's information and create a schedule for him. To Zero's great relief, they were in the same class.

The very moment that Rose trailed into the classroom, several squeals seemed to erupt from the female population at once. Zero found his teeth clenching in annoyance, much in the same fashion it did during class changeover. Rose was visibly anxious, clearly unnerved by the squeals. The girls converged at once, shouting questions at a million miles per minute, but with a violent glare, the noise died at once and the female students took a collective step backwards, instinctively cowering behind an invisible line.

Zero could almost feel the adoring gaze creeping its way onto Rose's face. He chose to ignore it for the time being.

The homeroom teacher introduced the weapon as Rose Kiryu, Zero's cousin. The girls swooned and sighed as he greeted the class with a smile and a shy mumble of "Please take care of me." As the high-pitched screams blossomed once more, Zero rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell was so squeal-worthy about the obviously uncertain smile on Rose's face.

* * *

Mere minutes later, Yuki found herself uncomfortably seated between Kaname and her weapon. Yes, her stunningly gorgeous weapon that insisted she call him Artemis.

She felt like one of the fangirls.

The three of them were seated at a small table in Kaname's room, though thankfully, Artemis was currently clothed and no longer calling her mistress. However, he and Kaname were still glaring at each other. "Ah, Y-yuki," Artemis began, uncomfortable with addressing his wielder so informally, "I want to apologize for transforming so abruptly. It's just…I could feel your sorrow, and I wanted to help." His deep blue eyes were firmly trained on the table, a self-deprecating smile playing at his lips.

With a forlorn little grin, Yuki clasped Artemis's hand, much to her older brother's displeasure. "It's okay, Artemis. I didn't mind." After all, who wouldn't mind waking up next to the naked male personification of one of the most powerful vampire weapons? "I'm glad I can speak to you like this, though. Especially since I can no longer wield you."

Guilt washed over Kaname; he was behaving so immaturely, allowing his jealousy to overcome him, even though his dear girl was so upset about the loss of her beloved weapon. It was a beyond behind his own personal understanding, but it was still important to Yuki and that was all that mattered to Kaname.

"Y-yuki-sama!" The Artemis Rod blurted, unnerved by her words. "What do you mean?!"

"My pureblood self is too dominant," she admitted with that same melancholy smile. "I can no longer wield you."

The long-haired male bolted to his feet. His powerful frame towering over the petite vampire. "That's not true!" he bellowed. "I chose you as my mistress, and I will only serve you, Yuki-sama!"

"Then why, Artemis?" she cried, her voice thick and wavering. Tears pooled, getting clung in her thick lashes before escaped and meeting her porcelain cheeks. It was then that Kaname knew – seeing those barely dried trails of tears was nothing compared to this. "Why won't you work for anymore?"

The strength and passion appeared to leave his body, and with a heavy sigh, Artemis slumped into his seat. "We have a bond, Yuki-sama. You and I…we share energy, and that's what makes us so effective in battle. These past few weeks, you've been so heartbroken! I don't what happened, but I can feel it. Your heart hasn't been into it, and normally, I can support you and give you some of my energy when we fight together, but…I am weak too, Yuki-sama.

"I…I have a weapon partner. We're like two halves of the same entity, but without him, it's difficult for me to be an effective weapon for you. In the past, I've been able to compensate for his absence, but I've gotten so used to always being near him. I-I don't deserve to ask this, but please! Help me find my weapon partner!"

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kaname asked for about the millionth time that night. Yuki smiled indulgently at her older brother. In the adjacent bathroom, Artemis was rapidly shrugging into the Night Class uniform. She listened to his frustrated curses as he fumbled with the silver buttons; at last, she answered her brother's question.

"I don't see what harm it would do. Besides, I really want to help him, onii-sama." She flashed him a sweet smile, and Kaname knew that he'd be going along with her idea, regardless of whether or not he felt it was foolish.

"Umm, I don't really understand how these buttons work," the long-haired weapon mumbled as he stepped out of the bathroom. Yuki laughed heartily at the boy's mismatched buttons and strode over to help him.

"I always had to fix Zero's clothes for him, too," she reminisced with a fond smile as she adjust the garments. "He always has trouble with the tie."

"Zero?" Artemis repeated the name. "Is that a friend of yours?"

Her chocolate brown eyes flickered away from the task her hands were performing, instead choosing to meet cerulean blue eyes. The sadness that rippled through her eyes spoke more volumes than the emotions that tugged through they're bond. "Yeah, he was a friend of mine."

* * *

Zero didn't really understand why they wasted time with patrols and class changeover. So much time would be saved if Cross just let him kill the fangirls.

The female Day Class students were quite enamored, and true to Rose's naturally happy personality, he took to them surprisingly well. In fact, the only unhappy one in this scenario was Zero.

And of course, if Zero was seriously unhappy, everyone within a fifty foot radius of him would be unhappy as well. That was simply the way things worked.

Throughout the entire day, Rose and Zero were followed by a massive annoying gaggle of the most irritating creatures. If his Bloody Rose wasn't currently an attractive teenage boy, he would've used to shoot them or at least threaten them. Of course, if Bloody Rose wasn't an attractive teenage boy, the unruly and unhappy hunter wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place.

The girls had even had the gall to sit with them at lunch! Of course, they all had enough common sense to sit _several_ seats away from Zero. Of course it was still annoying to have to hear them whisper back and forth (they weren't that quiet) with an occasional collective squeal interrupting every so often.

And now, here he was, heading to do his class changeover duty with Rose in tow and a massive bundle of fangirls trailing behind them like baby ducklings following their mother.

Zero had already explained the technical purpose of monitoring class changeover: to the insistent fangirls from provoking the vampires and, in turn, getting themselves eaten. However, the prefect felt that now was as good a time as any to tell him the _real_ purpose of monitoring class changeover: to help the vampires from getting glomped by infatuated teenage girls. Honestly, Zero hated the idea of doing anything for those self-entitled vampires, but he didn't have much of a choice.

While they waited, Zero also took the opportunity to share some of his favorite techniques that he implemented while dealing with fangirls. "The easiest way to handle it is to glare at them. It sounds almost too simple, but it scares the hell out of them every time. Of course, every now and then, someone likes to be a little smartass and think they can toe out of line. That can be handled pretty easily, too, though. Just threaten them. Or make them cry. Either one works, really."

Rose found it sort of eerie how easily Zero talked about making someone cry, but he trusted his wielder's judgment. In fact, seeing the hunter in action, only solidified Rose's opinion that Zero could do anything. The weapon wasn't too confident in his own ability to do the same, though.

Zero watched from the other side of the pathway as Rose attempted to stare down the girls that were milling about wherever they pleased. To his slight amusement, Rose was apparently incapable of being mean. His glare resembled more of a childish pout, earning himself several squeals from the girls.

The Bloody Rose gun quickly shuffled over to Zero's side. "Ryu-chan!" Rose cried, and for some reason this earned him a chorus of coos and cries from the Day Class girls. "Can I try a different technique? Your tactics for controlling the students are so advanced! I haven't mastered them yet," he admitted in an embarrassed fashion.

Almost absentmindedly, Zero shrugged. "Sure. As long as they don't step out of line, I really don't care," the hunter replied casually, shooing Rose back towards his side of the courtyard.

At the same time they did every night, the heavy gates swung open. With a quick warning glare at his line of fangirls, Zero turned to the other side to see how Rose was doing. To his great surprise, the humanized gun was _talking_ to the girls. He wasn't threatening them as Zero normally did, and he wasn't pleading with them as Yuki once did; no, Rose was actually holding a conversation with them. It seemed to be effective, the prefect noted, as the girls on Rose's side had yet to notice that the gates had opened and the vampires were preparing to make the trek to class.

As usual, Kaname and Yuki were the last ones to exit. Zero made to turn away from them just as he always did, but the odd powerful aura of the person on Yuki's right made him pause in doing so. The power that emanated off of the tall, long-haired boy felt exactly like the waves of energy that Rose emitted. The other vampires must have sensed it was well; it made them hesitant to get too close to the new member of the Night Class, as well as the new prefect.

Simultaneously, Kaname, Yuki, and Zero turned to Rose, though the ex-human's reason for doing was far different from that of the pureblood siblings. He was curious to see how his gun would react. Rose clearly sensed the aura as well; he turned away from the Day Class girls, eyes widening as he took in the sight of long silver-grey hair and cerulean eyes.

"Artemis!"

"Rose!"

* * *

A/N: It's kinda pathetic that I'm so amped about my own fic; I feel like some dorky fan or something. OTL

Rose reminds me sooooooo much of Takuma. It's kinda weird. I love the way he acts with Zero; it's like a younger brother hero worshiping an older brother, or underclassman following his sempai. It's so cute in my head. I'm pretty pleased with Yuki and Artemis's interactions too though. They remind me of a soap opera or something.

And the idea of the fangirls following Zero and Rose like little duckies! Waaaay too cute.

Did you guys catch Kaname's little worrying about Zero moment? It's the beginnings of love, I say!

So, this whole weapon-wielder bond reminds me a bit of the blood bond thing that a lot of people do in their fics, at least as far as the whole "feeling each other's emotions" thing is concerned. Personally, I think there is some kind of bond between weapons and wielders. I've just sort of...amplified that. This has got me thinking, though. What if Zero drank Rose's blood? Does Rose even have blood? Hmm...I'll have to explore this more in subsequent chapters.

KanaZero love will abound in the next chapter...sorta...

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of _Artemis Rose_! Please review, favorite, and follow! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

SEE YA NEXT TIME!


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